Matt Coleman remembered with Community Foundation grant

A grant from the Matt Coleman Fund at the Community Foundation of Mendocino has allowed The Mendocino Land Trust (MLT) to hire a new Trails and Big River Stewardship Coordinator.

Matt Coleman was a much loved employee of the MLT known for his passion and ability to engage the public in "citizen science" projects. Coleman organized volunteer days collecting a wide variety of data regarding the Big River watershed.

Nicolet Houtz, the new coordinator, will be organizing and cataloging this data as well as planning for future studies that will build on Coleman's work.

"Matt was really good at engaging the public," said Louisa Morris of the MLT. "He energized the community and collected a lot of data. We want to look hard at his data and continue his excellent work."

Coleman's citizen science projects included bird surveys, fish snorkel surveys and water temperature studies. Patti Black of Ukiah would drive to the coast every year to take part in his studies.

"Matt was just a big bear of a guy who was so gentle and fun," said Black. "He just made you excited about nature and made you want to know more."

When she heard of the Matt Coleman Fund, Patti decided to make a donation.

"He made such a big impact, on me and the community, I wanted to honor him and see his work continued so I made a contribution" said Black. The Matt Coleman Fund is an endowed fund that grows over time and allows the Community Foundation to provide grants with the interest the fund has accrued.

Primary funding for the position came from the State Coastal Conservancy and the Big River Fund of the Mendocino Land Trust.

Houtz will be continuing the tradition of citizen science projects initiated by Coleman. Citizen science involves utilizing members of the public to collect data that can then be analyzed by professional researchers. The Audubon Society's Annual Christmas Bird count was first held in 1900 and is perhaps one of the earliest and best known citizen science projects.

In addition to continuing Coleman's work, Houtz will be performing trail work for the MLT.

The public can support the continuation Coleman's work with donations to the Matt Coleman Fund at the Community Foundation of Mendocino.